Lieutenant governor hopeful Wes Allen took aim at his prime competitor John Wahl Tuesday, criticizing Wahl for his attendance at an interfaith event that included Muslims.
“When John Wahl chose to enter an Islamic Center to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan earlier this month, he showed us that he does not share the same values as the majority of Alabamians,” Allen said in a statement. “He can’t spin this. There is no excuse for participating in the celebration of Islamic Ramadan. There is no excuse to go to a place that operates a mosque and a school to indoctrinate children into Islam, even if you are invited to do so.
“You will never find me in an Islamic Center or a mosque. I am a committed Christian. I want no part in Islam and the vast majority of Republicans in this state and across this country agree with me.”
The comments come after a period of intense emphasis on the supposed dangers of Islam by gubernatorial hopeful and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama.
Wahl responded Tuesday, calling Allen’s statement a reflection of “politics at their worst” and said that the event was not a celebration of Islamic Ramadan, but an interfaith gathering with multiple elected officials present. He also said he is willing to share his Christian faith anywhere.
“The suggestion that I somehow embrace Muslim values or Ramadan is not only false—it is ridiculous. Anyone familiar with my life, my record, and my service knows that my Christian faith is central to who I am,” Wahl said. “Wes Allen’s attempt to use my faith as a political weapon shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospel. He claims that a ‘committed Christian’ stays away from those who believe differently. I would remind Wes that Jesus did not stay in the synagogue—He went to the well to speak to the Samaritan woman, He entered the homes of the rejected, and He commanded us to go into all the world.”
The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AL), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, called Tuesday for Allen to visit a mosque despite his statement emphasizing that he will never visit one. The organization previously called on Tuberville to visit a mosque after making his own inflammatory statements.
“Simply put: Secretary Allen is wrong. His remarks are deeply disappointing and reflect an alarming misunderstanding of both Islam and the importance of interfaith engagement in a diverse, democratic society. Ramadan is a sacred time for Muslims focused on fasting, charity, reflection, and community,” said Britton O’Shields, attorney for CAIR-AL. “These are values that are shared across many faith traditions.
“By attending a service at the Islamic Center, John Wahl demonstrated a commitment to know and serve the people of Alabama. Attending an interfaith dinner is not an endorsement of any religion, but rather a demonstration of mutual respect. Recently, a number of Alabama politicians, Wes Allen among them, have relied on bigoted rhetoric to secure cheap political gains by stoking fear about Muslims—but dividing the community isn’t leadership. Leadership is encouraging dialogue and understanding, not promoting division or spreading harmful stereotypes about places of worship and the families who attend them.”
